


Nile in Shining Armor

by HSavinien



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, Food, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Nile Freeman appreciation week, Nile Freeman-centric, One Night Stands, Podfic Available, Post-Canon, Sex, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26336854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HSavinien/pseuds/HSavinien
Summary: Nile makes a new acquaintance; they find each other attractive. For Nile Freeman Appreciation Week.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nile Freeman/Original Female Character
Comments: 20
Kudos: 119





	Nile in Shining Armor

Nile falls hard, lands on her side and rolls when she hits, but there's broken glass on the concrete and she leaves a smear of blood. She's back on her feet again, glad she wore her less-cute jacket tonight, because it's ripped and she's not  _ great _ at mending, but Joe will cheerfully insist that it's a wonderful time to learn. The asshole who hit her (while she was removing his buddy's hand from the short, round, butch girl he'd cornered) gears up for another swing. But she's seen him now and would probably have been able to take him down before MCMAP. After several years of getting her ass thoroughly and systematically handed to her by Andy, Nile puts him on the ground in under a minute. She turns to see the butch girl alternating ducking and kicking at the guy who'd started it. She's not doing much damage, but she's distracting the guy plenty. Nile gets him in an armlock that will only damage him permanently if he struggles too hard and escorts him out the door. He stumbles away, white with pain, abandoning the unconscious friend Nile drags out after. 

"You all right? I'm Nile," she says. 

The butch girl, more impressed than scared, apparently, offers her hand. "Ah, I'm fine," she says. She definitely is and probably did not mean it like that. Her hair's in an afro undercut that's dyed almost navy blue underneath, her mouth is a generous curve of a smile, and her jeans are fitting her really well. "Jackie. Where the hell'd you learn to fight like that? My ma's been after me to take up martial arts since I moved to the city, but this is the first I've taken the idea seriously." Her handshake is warm and dry, calloused in entirely different ways than anybody else whose hands Nile has touched recently. 

"Kung fu is really great, if you can find a dojo around," Nile says, which sounds like an answer, but isn't. "Are you sure you're okay? The flat my friends and I are renting is just around the corner." She pauses for a second and adds, "Sorry, that sounded weird. If you wanted to sit down and have a glass of water or something, I mean." 

Jackie looks her over and tips her head, smile widening. "Wouldn't mind, if your friends don't."

Nile feels the blush rising in her face. "Of course they won't."

She leads the way. It really is just around the corner and she calls, "Nicky, Joe, company!" as they enter. It takes a few minutes to take off their shoes and hang their coats, and by the time they make it to the kitchen, Nicky and Joe are waiting eagerly with an extra plate set out. 

"Oh, I didn't realize you were in the middle of supper," Jackie demurs. 

"No, no, a new friend of Nile's is always welcome," Nicky says, and gently works them through the required rounds of polite refusal, including how grateful she already is that Nile helped her with the creeps and how nice it is to have visitors and how she can't impose and how they accidentally made far too much, surely she can do them a favor by helping them eat it, it would be a shame if it went off before they could finish all of it. Eventually Jackie sits at the table with a plate of mullah and a couple pieces of kisra to dip in it, looking slightly shell-shocked.

She tastes it tentatively, then starts eating as enthusiastically as everyone else. "This is brilliant."

Nile groans in sympathy. "Right? These guys are amazing cooks."

Nicky pats her shoulder in passing, heading for the fridge for more water. "It is only practice, Nile. And the joy of cooking for people we love."

She grins at Joe, who looks smug. 

The food is good, even though she's still not used to the spices, and they chat lightly. Jackie's working at a grocery and doing a postgrad in mathematics. Nile and the rest of the household are doing some holidaying after finishing a big project for the company they all work for. "Ugh, security consulting, it's incredibly boring," Nile says. 

"Oh," Joe says, as if he's just remembered. "Andy is out for the night; she wanted to go backpacking and get away from people for a little. We're going to a club a few streets over and I have Nicky's promise we will spend at least three hours. I want to do some dancing." He shimmies a little in his seat to make her laugh. 

"And there will maybe be karaoke and he will need at least an hour to try to convince me to sing," Nicky added, sitting back down. 

"Oh, yeah, that's no problem," Nile says, feeling a blush heating her cheeks again. "I'm sure I'll be fine here."

Jackie's eyes have gone heavy lidded. "I can hang around if you'd like some company," she suggests. 

"Sounds great," Nile says, and Joe is definitely flashing a thumbs up in her peripheral vision.

They head out as soon as the supper dishes are put away, and she's pretty sure she hears the word 'wager' in Italian as they go, but Jackie is leaning against the doorframe looking like a snack and she doesn't really care what kind of bets they're making about her right this moment. 

"Hey," Jackie says. "It's been a weird night, but you're cute and a bit badass and I'm down for a fling. What do you say?"

Nile hasn't been smooth, ever, in her life, but that's a softball question if there ever was one. "Absolutely," she agrees, and steps forward, fingers slipping carefully around the curve of Jackie's hip. 

Jackie stretches up to kiss her and it has been way too long. Nile moans into her, pressing her against the doorframe. Jackie pulls back after a minute, her hands wrapped around Nile's biceps and mouth wet.

"Girl, you lift weights? Oh my God." Jackie looks her up and down, more slowly this time. "I'm getting you naked, right? That's on the table? Show me those muscles already."

Nile bursts out laughing. "Sure, if you want. My room's this way."

Jackie is soft and lush under her button down and sports bra and very vocally pleased with every new bit of Nile she uncovers. They shove each other around in their eagerness, eventually making it to her bed and naked, where Jackie pushes Nile down on her back, and demonstrates with mouth and hands just exactly how much she likes Nile's body. Nile yells loud enough that Jackie claps a hand over her mouth, muttering around her mirth about scaring the neighbors. 

Nile lays there for a second, blinking stars out of her eyes, then rolls them over to return the favor. Jackie comes with Nile's mouth on her chest, and two fingers deep inside her, clutching Nile's shoulders like she's drowning. 

Jackie drifts off for a bit afterward, leaving Nile free to admire her some more. Her hair is flattened a little, from Nile's thighs around her ears, and Nile isn't sure she has a pick handy, she'll have to check. 

When Jackie blinks awake, she smacks a kiss on Nile's cheek. "Gotta clean up. I'm not going to stay; work in the morning."

"Oh, sure," Nile agrees, still a little floaty from endorphins. "My toiletry kit might have a comb that will work and there's extra toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet, if you want. First door on the left."

"You are a gem, as well as a knight in shining armor," Jackie informs her. "It's been lovely meeting you, Nile."

"Same," Nile tells her sincerely. 

After a brief tidy-up, Jackie kisses her one more time, hot and deep, pats her on the cheek, and says goodbye. "If you visit again, look me up," she says, offering Nile a scrap of paper. 

"Thanks," Nile says and waves her down the street. 

She has a pot of water on the stove and herbal tea steeping when Joe and Nicky amble back in, Nicky humming and Joe swaying in time. 

"How was your evening?" Joe asks, pouring himself a mug and sitting beside her to bump her elbow gently. 

"Good," she says, still feeling a little unmoored. "She was nice." 

Nicky sits across from them and steals Joe's mug for a sip. "Good. I'm glad. You deserve people who treat you sweetly sometimes."

"I've got you guys, and Andy," she says.

"And we love you, but there's other kinds of sweetness than family," Nicky says fondly.

"That's for sure." Nile leans into the warmth of Joe's arm. "You have a good time?"

"We did." Joe's jaw cracks on a yawn. "Bedtime for old men."

"He is ancient and creaky and needs his rest," Nicky informs her.

"You're only three years younger than me," Joe says, shaking his head. "Come on, ridiculous man. Good night, Nile. Sleep well."

She goes. She feels alive and wrung out and pleasantly warm, but in many ways, mostly she feels loved.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Nile in Shining Armor](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792128) by [greedy_dancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greedy_dancer/pseuds/greedy_dancer)




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